Pain and Akatsuki

"Captain, this should be the location of the plan. There are signs of tampering; it seems a battle took place here."

In the valley where Lan had killed the Kirigakure ninja, a group of ninjas dressed as Kirigakure Anbu appeared, carefully searching the surrounding terrain for any useful information.

Unfortunately, these Kirigakure Anbu had arrived too late. All traces that could have exposed identities had been cleaned up by the puppets activated by the Tenseigan, leaving them with few clues.

"It seems highly likely that the woman Pakura is not dead. All our men have gone missing as well—could it be that she killed them all by herself?"

The Anbu squad leader clenched his fists, his expression filled with anger; it was clear he found this fact difficult to accept.

"Could it be that the Sand Village feigned a desire for peace while secretly sending people to ambush our team? Otherwise, it's impossible for Pakura to have wiped everyone out alone," one of them suggested.

"These are all just guesses. Let's report this to the Mizukage first and let him decide. If the Sand Village is truly behind this, our Kirigakure will not let this slide."

Inside the Kirigakure building, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, looked at the intelligence submitted by the Anbu, a cold, icy glint flashing in his eyes.

After passing the intelligence to several Kirigakure elders, a brief silence fell over the conference room, followed by a heated argument.

"I believe this is a conspiracy by the Sand Village. They never had any sincerity in the negotiations."

"But the intelligence we received shows that Rasa is quite wary of Pakura. This time, he likely intended to use our hands to eliminate her, so I don't think the problem lies with the Sand Village."

"Oh? You say the problem isn't with the Sand Village? Does that mean it lies with our own people? Are you really questioning your own kin for the sake of an outsider? Are you even fit to be an elder of Kirigakure?"

A young, white-haired man raised an eyebrow and challenged an elderly elder.

"Clan Head Kaguya, I am merely stating my own hypothesis. Why are you so eager to pin labels on me? Are you feeling guilty because you have something to hide?"

The elderly elder retorted without showing any weakness.

The current Kirigakure was not a monolith; various factions had their own agendas. There were peace factions and war factions, and these two groups were locked in a fierce struggle.

That was why the elder from the peace faction suspected the war-mongering Clan Head Kaguya.

"Bullshit. Do you think I'm as stupid as you? Why would I bother with such a thankless task? I think you've lived all these years in vain."

Clan Head Kaguya would naturally not allow others to pin a false accusation on him, but such undignified language naturally pushed the elder to his breaking point.

The elder, disregarding his composure, rolled up his sleeves as if he were about to brawl with Clan Head Kaguya right there in the conference room.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Yagura Karatachi finally could not sit still and spoke up.

"Enough. Stop with the baseless speculation. The priority is to find Pakura; the truth will reveal itself then. Furthermore, keep your people in check until she is found. Do not do anything that might bring disaster upon yourselves at such a critical juncture."

Yagura Karatachi's gaze swept across the room, and everyone he looked at lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

Everyone, that is, except for one person: the young Clan Head Kaguya. He not only met Yagura Karatachi's gaze directly, but the latter could even see a hint of eagerness in the man's eyes.

To be completely indifferent to the terrifying pressure of Yagura Karatachi, the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, and to display such battle-crazed behavior—it could only be said that he was truly worthy of being the head of the Kaguya clan.

Yagura Karatachi seemed accustomed to Clan Head Kaguya's unruly nature, appearing calm and collected on the surface, as if he did not take the other's insolence to heart.

"The interests of the village are paramount. If I find out that anyone is disregarding the big picture for their own selfish gains, don't blame me for being ruthless."

He spoke with a terrifyingly gloomy expression, as if he already had a suspect in mind.

Clearly, at this moment, Yagura Karatachi's primary suspect remained within Kirigakure.

Hmph, I hope this isn't the work of you hidden threats within the village. Otherwise, for the sake of the village's future, what Rasa can do, I, Yagura Karatachi, can do as well.

"For now, ignore the Sand Village. Drag out the peace negotiations as long as you can..."

Land of Rain.

In a hidden cave.

Obito, wearing a spiral mask, asked Black Zetsu, "Why haven't I seen any trace of Nagato lately? What has he been doing all this time?"

Facing Obito's question, Black Zetsu replied, "Nagato has recently reached a new level of mastery over the power of the Rinnegan. I hear he has found a way to resolve the current situation and will soon be able to unleash power even greater than before."

"Oh? Is that so? I'd quite like to witness this new power of the Rinnegan."

No sooner had Obito finished speaking than a magnetic voice accompanied by footsteps appeared in the cave.

"Is that so? Do you wish to be the first to witness this power, Madara?"

Six figures clad in crimson cloud-patterned robes appeared before Obito. The leader was someone Obito knew well—it was the former leader of the Akatsuki... Yahiko.

At this moment, like the other five figures, Yahiko's eyes were the ripple-patterned Rinnegan. These were, in fact, special avatars controlled by the power of the Rinnegan.

"What is this?"

"We are the Six Paths of Pain."

Pain?

Interesting. Is this the power of the Rinnegan? Truly incredible.

"Madara, what is it you want from me?"

Facing Pain's inquiry, Obito replied, "Originally, I wasn't entirely certain about this bold plan, but now, perhaps it really can succeed. However, before that, we need to add a few more people to be safe."

Obito's words made Pain tense. Who could make him so cautious? Could the target be Hanzo?

For Nagato, Hanzo, who had caused the death of his dear brother Yahiko, was someone he was determined to kill. He had worked so hard to master the power of the Rinnegan and create the Six Paths of Pain precisely to kill him as soon as possible and avenge his best friend.

However, although he hated Hanzo to the core and wished to kill him immediately, he was not so blind as to underestimate Hanzo, who was currently in his prime.

That man, known as the Demigod, possessed strength that stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world.

The Six Paths of Pain had only just been completed and had not yet been tested in actual combat.

If he were to rashly strike at Hanzo now, success would naturally be a good thing, but if he failed, it would be difficult to eliminate him once the man was on his guard.

"Rest assured, the opponent I've chosen for you is perfectly suited to test the power of the Six Paths of Pain. Consider it a dress rehearsal before dealing with Hanzo."

Hearing this, Pain snorted disdainfully, "No matter who it is, they are fragile before the power of the Rinnegan, and Hanzo will be no exception."

Knowing that the other was merely posturing—if he were truly that confident, he would have likely been unable to restrain himself from killing Hanzo already; his inaction now was proof of his uncertainty—Obito did not call his bluff, but instead changed the subject.

"Our organization has too few members right now. The top priority is to recruit some people to increase our numbers and facilitate our operations."

"Do you have any targets in mind?" Pain asked.

"Of course. First, the rogue ninja from the Sand Village, Sasori.

The rogue ninja from Takigakure, Kakuzu.

The rogue ninja from Konoha, Orochimaru.

The rogue ninja from Kirigakure, Juzo Biwa.

These are all powerful rogue ninjas. If we can recruit them, it will be of great benefit to our goal of collecting the Tailed Beasts.

I have already had White Zetsu track their movements, and I believe we will find them soon."

"In that case, let's move."